New figures from the RAC reveal that young drivers are ignoring warnings about using phones while behind the wheel.

What is more, the video calls appear particularly disturbing.

Prosecutions for phone use by drivers are also on the rise.

Hanging on

According to new data from the 2024 Report on Motoring, the proportion of young drivers illegally making and receiving phone calls behind the wheel without hands-free technology is at its highest rate in eight years.

More than half (55%) of drivers under 25 admitted to making and receiving voice calls behind the wheel, compared to 27% of the overall driving population and 16% of those aged 65 or older.

This is up six percentage points from 2023 and three percentage points from 2016, when the data was first recorded.

 

 

Seeing the danger

There has also been an alarming increase in drivers taking photos and/or recording videos.

In 2024, almost one-in-10 drivers (8%) admit to doing so in the past 12 months, up from 5% in 2023 and 2022.

Again, non-compliance with the law is significantly higher among younger drivers, with 39% of under-25s having checked messages manually when driving.

In comparison, almost a third (30%) have taken a picture or recorded a video, a steep increase from 2023’s 19%.

Meanwhile, 40% of under-25s have made or received a video call while driving, up from 30% in 2023 and 17% in 2022.

Furthermore, four-in-10 (43%) young drivers said they have listened to a voice note while driving without using hands-free, while 40% have recorded such a message.

The corresponding rates for the overall driving population are just 14% and 9%, respectively.

The law

These findings come 21 years after the Government first made it an offence to use a handheld mobile phone or similar device while driving.

It has also been more than two years since it closed a loophole that previously allowed drivers to escape punishment if they could demonstrate they were not using the phone for ‘interactive communication’.

Research has consistently shown that even using hands-free phone systems while driving is as equally dangerous.

Despite this, successive governments have refused to consider banning all phones behind the wheel.

 

 

Not impressed

Across all age groups, 15% of all drivers have checked messages on their phones, and one-in-10 (10%) say they have used their phones to write texts, emails or social media posts while driving.

RAC road safety spokesman Rod Dennis said: “It’s extremely concerning that despite now having a ‘zero tolerance’ handheld phone law in place, an increasing number of young drivers appear to be using their phones to call, text, voice note or even video chat while operating a vehicle.”

A fifth (22%) of all drivers questioned for the RAC’s research said other drivers using handheld mobile phones behind the wheel is one of their top motoring concerns, representing the report’s sixth biggest overall concern.

Meanwhile, more than three-quarters of all drivers (77%) say they would like to see the widespread introduction of cameras designed to detect illegal phone use at the wheel, a rate that falls only slightly to 67% among the under-25s.

Trials of new artificial intelligence (AI) cameras capable of identifying drivers who are not wearing seatbelts or using mobile phones while driving have expanded in the UK.

Home Office figures show the number of fines for using a handheld mobile phone while driving increased by a third (33%) last year.

There were 23 fatalities on the UK’s roads in 2023 where a driver using a mobile phone was deemed to be a contributing factor in the collision, up from 18 in 2019.

In addition, distraction and impairment is a factor behind more than a third (34.9%) of all fatal collisions, according to the latest official figures.

 

Deterrence

Dennis said: “We suspect a major reason for this is drivers not believing they are likely to be caught. But hopefully, growing use of AI cameras which allow police to detect drivers breaking the law will get the message across that offenders will be caught and punished with six penalty points and a £200 fine.

“For young drivers who passed their tests in the last two years, this means losing their licences.”

He continued: “Anyone who uses a mobile phone at the wheel in any way is not just risking their own lives, but those of their passengers and all other road users.

“The only ‘screentime’ drivers should have in the car is looking through the windscreen as they focus on the road.”

Nicholas Lyes, policy and standards director for IAM RoadSmart, describes phone use behind the wheel as “dangerous and unlawful”.

“Even a momentary distraction can be disastrous, and it is deeply concerning to see that an increasing number of young people are using their phones while driving – particularly to make a video or to take a photo.

“Almost one in five drivers killed on our roads are aged 17-24, so action needs to be taken, not just by the police, but by drivers themselves who hold a great deal of responsibility behind the wheel.”